Social Relationships and Mortality Risk: A Meta-analytic Review

The quality and quantity of individuals' social relationships has been linked not only to mental health but also to both morbidity and mortality.

This meta-analytic review was conducted to determine the extent to which social relationships influence risk for mortality, which aspects of social relationships are most highly predictive, and which factors may moderate the risk. DATA EXTRACTION: Data were extracted on several participant characteristics, including cause of mortality, initial health status, and pre-existing health conditions, as well as on study characteristics, including length of follow-up and type of assessment of social relationships.